Piquet House

WQ.106/2022

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 28th MARCH 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 4th APRIL 2022

Question

Will the Minister advise whether Piquet House has been leased for use by the Justice and Home Affairs Department (J.H.A.) and, if this is the case, will he advise –

1. for what purposes Piquet House will be used by J.H.A.;
2. when the decision was made that it should be used by J.H.A.;
3. what consultation, if any, was undertaken about the change of use and with whom;
4. the length of tenancy agreed with Jersey Property Holdings;
5. whether any planning application has been submitted for the change of use of these premisses and, if so, when it was submitted;
6. the date on which J.H.A. submitted refurbishment plans;
7. what budget has been allocated to refurbishment and from which head of expenditure this will be take;
8. when refurbishment of the property started; and
9. how much has been spent to date on refurbishment?

Answer

1. Piquet House will be used by JHA to accommodate the Victim Services team under one roof whilst we await the new building (Child’s House) as contained in the Government Plan.

The team are currently split between Police HQ and the Dewberry House (SARC) basement. The basement is not fit for purpose for office accommodation, due to damp and roof leaks, and cannot accommodate the whole team. The remainder of the team are temporarily accommodated in Police HQ. Police HQ is not a desirable location for the team, who are independent from the police and who deal with some of our most vulnerable victims of sexual and domestic abuse. Following the staff review and growth in financial crime services they can no longer be accommodated there.

The services the team provide in respect of sexual and domestic abuse victims have been recognised by the government as a priority in the funding allocated to grow the service and provide a new building in the Government Plan. They are trying to deliver these important services, as well as a service to all victims of crime following the closure of Victim Support, whilst awaiting a new purpose-built building. Being located in Piquet House will undoubtedly enhance the ability to do so. They will have premises separate to the police station where the team can meet clients and where the team can operate as one which will provide greater capacity and capability.

2. The requirement was raised by the Police in August 2020, but at that time there was no space available. Piquet House had been allocated to the States Greffe in early 2020 for a Family Court, in March 2021 the Greffe started consultation for an alternative location to Piquet House. At this point JHA visited Piquet House and confirmed that it met their requirement.

3. As there were no other active bids for Piquet House, the Corporate Asset Management Board was notified verbally to confirm whether there was any other interest in the site, and when there was a nil return, the site was allocated to JHA.
4. JHA will use the premises until the new SARC is completed, which is scheduled for mid-2024.
5. No planning application was required, the building will continue to provide administration and office functions.
6. 8 June 2021.
7. An underspend of £100k from the 2021 SARC budget contributed to the refurbishment. The underspend was due to an inability to recruit an intermediary service during covid. The remainder of the contract sum of £236k is taken from the JPH maintenance project delivery budget.
8. The contract was let in August 2021 and work started in September 2021.
9. £188,339 has been spent to date